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Jonah
It was eight o’clock at night before we finished with the hospital and police interrogations, and were free to go home. All of us were exhausted as Nate led us down the hall of the police station and into the reception area.
ViviAnna rose from the corner sitting area with a quiet exclamation of relief as she wrapped Elle in her arms. For a moment, Elle relaxed her stiff shoulders and sank into her mother’s embrace. That was the first show of vulnerability I’d seen from her in hours.
Even as Elle had explained to the police how two of her “friends” had betrayed her in the worst way, she’d remained strong and stoic. I doubted anyone could see how brittle she’d become throughout the day, but I could. It worried me.
She hadn’t looked to me for support even once today. That had given me an unsettled feeling that had grown worse throughout the day. I wanted to go home and wrap her up in my arms in bed, knowing that she was safe as we let the stress of the day go away for at least a few hours.
But right before we exited the police station, Elle turned to me. “I’m going to go to my mom’s hotel room for the night. I think I just need to get away to decompress.” She didn’t quite meet my eyes.
Before I could say anything about her plan, ViviAnna swept Elle into the protection of a waiting bodyguard.
ViviAnna turned to me. “This is for the best. She needs time.”
Without giving me a chance to respond, she turned and her entourage surrounded her, cutting me off as they flowed out into the chaos of reporters and cameras outside the police station. I never had a chance to see her again as the bodyguards hustled the two of them into their limo, separating me from them. Two other bodyguards motioned for Dillon and I to get into the other limo idling at the curb.
No! I needed to be with her tonight. Elle might feel like she needed space, but I knew her better. We’d both rest better, together.
When the car door shut behind us, quiet enveloped the car. I rapped on the glass divider separating the driver from the back. He rolled it down. “Yes, sir?”
“Can you take us to the Windsett Plaza, please?”
“No, sir. I’m sorry. My strict instructions were to take you to Miss Illumination’s apartment building, so that’s where we’re going.” He didn’t give me a chance to reply before he rolled the divider back up between us again.
I clenched my jaw and slammed my back against the seat, which just make my throbbing shoulder throb more. “Son of a bitch!”
Dillon cleared his throat. With his red eyes and pale skin, he looked just as rough as I felt. “Give her the night, man. It was a hard day for everyone. She may just need her mother tonight.”
I nodded, but had a feeling that this went much deeper than that. The lead weight in my gut, in my heart, told me this was much more serious than just needing a few hours. The one thing I knew about Elle Wilcox was that she would never run to hide behind her mother...not unless something had shaken the very core of her foundation. And I was terrified that the earthquake that had shaken her today had taken me completely out of her life.
***
AFTER A NIGHT OF LITTLE sleep with worrying about Elle, my cell phone rang early the next morning. The caller ID said it was the Gran Colina Police Department.
“Jonah Sutton,” I answered.
“Mr. Sutton, this is Nate Bromley. If you’d like a full update on the case against Gustaf Montes, the investigating detective, Detective Anderson, has been given permission to share all the details with you. But he’s on his way out of town early this morning. If you want to hear it straight from him, you need to be down at the police station within an hour.”
“I’ll be there in thirty minutes.” I needed to know everything, and if a cop was willing to share that information with me, I wasn’t going to pass up on it.
Twenty-eight minutes later, I walked into the police station and asked to see Detective Anderson, who I’d met the day before.
He led me back to his office and offered me a cup of coffee that I happily took. My body and mind felt battered after the day before. I needed as much help as possible to wake up.
He handed me the cup and then sat behind his desk. “I wanted to let you know that charges have been filed and booked on Mr. Gustaf Montes and his niece, Minerva James.”
“Charges have already been filed?” That was fast. Usually, the investigation would take a couple of days, and the district attorney would compile all the evidence to see what was the most expeditious way to pursue charges.
“Yes, his obsession with ViviAnna was deeply seeded. The district attorney allowed ViviAnna to visit with the suspect last night. Not only did she get a full confession out of her former makeup artist, but he also confessed he was hiding the photographer he’d kidnapped. She was found last night. She’s dehydrated, mentally traumatized, and malnourished, but should recover. He’s agreed to plead guilty. As far as the court is concerned, the case is already done and closed.”
Wow. That was incredible, but what a relief for Elle to not have to go through the spectacle of a trial.
“That’s fantastic,” I said. “I know Elle has to be happy about that. You said that this guy Gustaf was ViviAnna’s former makeup artist? Is that where his obsession began?”
The detective shuffled the papers in his file. “Yes. Gustaf Montes was the head makeup artist on ViviAnna’s video for Work It. In his mind, that job was the culmination of his brilliant career. When the tragedy happened on set, that fame was lost to him. He’s never recovered mentally from that.
“To say the guy is off his rocker is putting it mildly. He lives in Austin, and we’ve secured search warrants for his house there and also for the house he’s been living in here. Both places were literal shrines to ViviAnna. His obsession appears to have covered decades. We found photos of her daughter from birth up until a few days ago.”
Detective Anderson cleared his throat. “Since ViviAnna was so well-protected, his focus switched to the daughter. He thought if he could show ViviAnna his creative brilliance that she would accept him into her inner circle. You already saw how good he was with makeup.” The detective shuffled through the file on his desk. “Not only did he impersonate the old, grandmotherly Mrs. Latham, but he also posed as a janitor in one of the buildings where Illumination attended classes. He would also pose as a college student along with his niece, Minerva.”
Jonah frowned in concern. How had they missed all this? In one of those disguises, Gustaf could have gotten to Elle at any point. It was terrifying. “What about the niece? Has she also confessed?”
The detective shook his head. “No. She’s a harder nut to crack, but now that Gustaf has started talking, he hasn’t stopped. He doesn’t seem to be worried about protecting her, either. I’m sure the district attorney will be able to convince her to plea with the amount of evidence against her, especially since they’re charging her as an adult.”
I stilled. “She’s a minor?
“Yes. She’s only seventeen and not even registered at New Mexico Tech. Basically, he didn’t give her any choice in the matter of cooperating with his plan. He’s her only living relative and her guardian. There’s an internal investigation by social services in Texas to see if there might be a history of abuse. From what we can tell so far, he’s only had custody of her the last year. We’re still in the process of trying to figure out what happened to her parents, but it doesn’t look good.”
Had that sick man killed his family members to gain a pawn? I shuddered. The idea of it was so horrific. And that made it even more frightening to think about what he could have done to Elle.
Knowing Elle, she would want to do something to help Minerva despite all that had happened with the girl. Knowing she’d also been a victim in all this changed things. “Does Elle know all of this?”
“Yes. Since Ms. Wilcox is heading back to Austin, she was here about an hour ago. She’s already working with a lawyer on behalf of Minerva James.” He shook his head like that was a lost cause.
“Wait. What do you mean? She’s headed to Austin?”
The detective hesitated, as if suddenly realizing that maybe he’d just spilled something that he shouldn’t have. “Um, maybe I—”
“It’s okay.” I stood. “You said she was here earlier?” I didn’t even wait for his answer. Maybe I had time to catch her. She was running, and I couldn’t let her go without talking to her first. I rushed out of the police station and dashed to the car. Maybe I could catch her at the Plaza before they left.
But when I arrived at the Plaza, I was told that ViviAnna’s party had already checked out. I tried to call Elle, but it went immediately to voice mail.
I left a message. “Please, Elle, talk to me. I want to see you, make sure you’re okay.”
I texted the same thing but had no response. With no other options left, I went back to her apartment. When I entered, I could smell her perfume. She’d been here, might still be here. Hope bloomed in my chest.
I raced up the stairs, but didn’t see any sign of her. Literally nothing. Her shoes, her clothes, her toiletries...everything was gone. While I’d been at the police station, she’d been here, clearing out her belongings. My stomach sank.
She’d left me. I felt like my heart was digging its way out of my chest. It hurt to breathe, to think, to consider that I might not see her again. Is that what she wanted?
She’d told me that she loved me. Had she been lying? Or was she just scared? The events of the last day would knock anyone on their ass, but why wouldn’t she let me help her?
The answer was simple. She didn’t trust me. I’d let her down. Let her get hurt. And now, she didn’t trust me to give her what she needed. I couldn’t blame her for that, could I?
Dammit.
I thought I knew her better than this. I loved her. I wanted to spend the rest of my life with her. I thought we were getting close to the same page, but instead, she’d left without even a goodbye.
I sank onto the edge of her bed.
I needed to figure out a new plan of action. Did I give her time? Or go after her? My automatic reaction was to chase her, but that might not be what she needed from me right now. Could I be strong enough to let her go?
The idea of it brought me to my knees. I didn’t want to let her go. I needed her in my life.
I needed more coffee for this. I went downstairs and in the kitchen found a folded note with my name on it on the countertop. I snatched it up, relief flooding me, but then I read the few, basic words.
Jonah,
I’m sorry. Use the apartment for as long as you need it.
Elle
That was it. For some reason, those few words hurt more than being shot yesterday. She was really gone, and she might never come back.
And that hurt most of all.